Jacob’s mouth tightens. “The cop has arrived.”
“I think you meanboyfriend.” Ryan spits back immediately, like he had that answer ready. And I notice Jacob’s jaw clenching while glancing over at me. Clearly not happy with theactualanswer to his question.
Ryan’s eyes drop to me, voice dipping just slightly. “Everything good?”
“I’m fine, babe,” I respond, giving him a sweet smile.
“We were just talking,” Jacob cuts in. “You got a problem with that?”
Ryan tilts his head like he’s actually thinking it over. “Not really,” he says calmly. His arm tightens just a fraction around my shoulders. “I just don’t love people cornering my girl.”
Wow, he’s good at this.
Jacob’s eyes flash and I can’t help but notice that he looks small compared to Ryan. “What are you even doing out here?”
“Came to find her,” he says easily. Then his mouth tilts just slightly. “I don’t usually like going too long without her.”
Holy shit, he’sreallygood.
“But I’m sure you know how that is,” Ryan adds.
Jacob’s jaw ticks and for a second, nobody says anything. But then he steps back, already smoothing his expression into something careless. “Right,” he mutters, turning his gaze towards mine. “I’ll see you around, Mads.”
He turns and heads back toward the beach. Ryan doesn’t move until Jacob disappears into the crowd.
I lean a little closer. “Wow,” I murmur. “Didn’t know this was your secret talent.”
Ryan huffs a quiet laugh. “Well, what else is new?”
“You enjoyed that way too much.”
“Maybe a little.”
A laugh slips out of me before I can stop it.
“Well,” I start. “The plan seems to be working.”
“Oh yeah,” he laughs. “That guy is jealous as hell.”
I shrug my shoulders. “I mean who wouldn’t get jealous of being with me?”
Ryan shakes his head at my joke. “Now you’re getting cocky.”
I let out a chuckle and Ryan jerks his chin toward the beach. “Come on. We should get back before Noah starts winning at something.”
I snort. “Oh, yeah. We are not letting that happen.”
We walk back toward the fire, Jacob’s expression replaying very clearly in my head.
12
MADDY
This is better than reality TV
“Alright,” Dawn says, clapping her hands. “Now that we’ve covered the boring updates about school and work… I want tea. So start spilling the romance updates.”
Tess groans immediately, while Daphne perks up. I just take a slow sip of my coffee, already knowing exactly where this is headed.
